Birgitt
Borkopp-Restle, Regula Schorta, Switzerland, The
Abegg Foundation Chair for the History of Textile Arts at
the University of Bern.

Summary
The promotion of research on the history of the textile
arts has always been one of the goals of the
Abegg-Stiftung. With the endowment of a full
professorship at the Department of Art History at the
University of Bern, limited to a duration of ten years to
begin with, the Abegg-Stiftung aims to reinstate textile
historical research in the academic world, without
distancing it from the museum context. A two-year MA
degree course is planned, followed by a PhD program, both
to be studied primarily in conjunction with art history.

P A P E R S on E M B
R O I D E R Y

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28th

Zvezdana Dode,
Russia

Looted Christian
Embroidery in the costume of a nomad (13th - 14th
centuries AD).
Summary
During the Mongol Period, silk textiles were not only
traded, but were also thought of highly by the nomads as
a trophy. In one of the burials excavated in Kalmykia
(which in the 13th - 14th centuries AD was part of the
realm of the Golden Horde), an interesting artifact has
been found in the grave of a man. Several fragments of
embroidered silk textile had been preserved on the legs.
The shape of the trousers has parallels in pictorial
sources and various archaeological finds from the former
Mongol Empire. The embroidered silk had originally been a
curtain for a Christian icon showing "The Ascension
of Christ". The embroidery had been made in
Byzantium or Ancient Rus. It may be assumed that the
curtain was looted by a nomad from one of the Christian
churches in Dagestan, on the western shore of the Caspian
Sea. That region had an especially strong cult of the
apostle, Bartholomew, whose name, embroidered in
Cyrillic, was found preserved on the silk found in
Kalmykia.

Evelin Wetter,
Switzerland

Evidence of a Trade
in Luxury Textiles: Some Thoughts concerning Venetian
Embroideries and a special group of velvets in historical
Hungary.

Summary
In comparison with Northern European treasuries of
medieval luxury textiles (Gdansk, Stralsund, Brandenburg,
Halberstadt, etc...) their transmission in historical
Hungary presents some distinct features: in the
treasuries of Lutheran churches in Romania today, as well
as in Hungarian Catholic cathedrals, a strong Venetian
connection is apparent. On the one hand, this seems to
have been caused by trade contacts; on the other hand,
representations of specific patterns in contemporary
altar pieces reflect a certain taste and demand. While
the Venetian-produced embroidery is easily distinguished,
the group of velvets mentioned requires discussion within
a broader context.

Masako Yoshida.
Japan

European design
textiles produced in China and exported to Japan in the
late 16th through the early 17th centuries.
The actual presentation differed slightly from the
following abstract.

Summary
Several examples of European design textiles produced in
China and exported to Japan in fne late 16th through the
early 17th centuries will be discussed. These objects,
preserved in Japanese collections, were originally
produced for Europeans by the Chinese and were then
traded to Japan by European missionaries and merchants as
political gifts. The Japanese altered some of them to
create traditional costumes.
One example is a bedcover with a motif of an auspicious
bird that was transformed from "pelican in her
piety" by Chinese craftsmen. Eventually it was
traded to Japan where it was altered once again to make a
jacket for the traditional Kyogen performance.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29th

Maria Joao Pacheco
Ferreira, Portugal

Chinese Trade
Textiles for the Portuguese Market: Their presence in
religious contexts in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Summary
With the establishment of Portuguese settlements in
China, textiles became an important trade
commodity between Macau, India and Portugal.
According to contemporary documents, large quantities of
raw materials, such as silk yams, as well
as woven cloths, finished garments and furnishings were
part of this commerce, especially those
intended for religious contexts. Indeed, we observe that
typical Chinese textiles, such as mandarin
squares, and other objects were being produced according
to Portuguese instructions and used as
liturgical or secular adornments in Catholic ceremonies.
This talk aims to present and discuss some examples of
these celebratory events.

Maria-Anne
Privat-Savigny, France

The Religious
Worship Administration Office and the Financing of
Pontifical under the Regime of the Concordat of 1801.

Summary
In 1992, to coincide with the exhibition Paramentica,
Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier published a preliminary study
of orders for pontifical financed by the Religious
Worship Administration Office {Administration des Cubes)
under the Concordat regime of 1801.
This lecture aims to develop this initial analysis by
tackling the following questions:
1) The Religious Worship Administration Office pursued a
specific policy in terms of the financing of pontifical.
What amounts were involved and how were they spread
temporally and geographically? Can textile pontifical be
considered a political tool at the service of a more
global religious policy?
2) Detailed examination and analysis of the estimates
submitted for approval to the Religious Worship
Administration Office have made it possible to reveal a
specific type of pontifical endorsed by the Concordat
government. What was it like in terms of quality and
style? Did the Office follow a committed policy in favour
of the adoption of the Neo-Gothic style?
3) Finally, through this financing, the Religious Worship
Administration Office contributed to the economic
development of an important French industrial sector in
the 19th century. What guidelines were adopted?
During the period of the Concordat of 1801, the Religious
Worship Administration Office pursued averitable policy
of ordering pontifical, the latter becoming a political
and aesthetic tool and a means of collaboration with the
prelates.

Ursula Karbacher,
Switzerland

The first balance
sheets from 1760 to 1807 of a St. Gallen company
celebrating its 250th anniversary
Summary
The St. Gallen textile trade has a long tradition. The
manufacture and trading of linen has brought the city
prosperity since the 15th century. This year, a
manufacturer of St. Gallen embroidery and a market leader
is celebrating its 250th anniversary. Since its
establishment in 1759, the company has dealt in the
world-famous St. Gallen cloths, multicoloured cotton
fabrics and, later, embroideries. The first balance
sheets from 1760 to 1807 will be placed in the context of
the textile history of St.Gallen and will be compared to
corresponding objects from the same period.

Summary
Formerly in the possession of the Cathedral ofTarragona,
it is has been held at the Museu Diocesa of the
archdiocese of Tarragona since 1918. It is dedicated to
Saint Louis of Toulouse (1274-1298),
a Franciscan friar and Bishop of Toulouse. He was the
eldest surviving son of the King of Naples, Charles II of
Anjou. The antependium is divided into four
embroidered panels which depict episodes in the
life of the saint:
- The Renunciation of the crown of Naples,
- The Ceremony of Louis taking holy orders,
- King Charles visiting his son at the monastery and
- The Preaching of Louis.
The four panels are separated by panels embroidered with
plant motifs.

The altar frontal is embroidered with polychrome silks
and gold and silver threads on a plain weave ground. The
name of the workshop where it was embroidered is not
known. It dates from the middle of the 15th century,
perhaps from between 1440 and 1450. It is thought that
the author of the cartoon for the embroidery was a
painter from the circle of Catalan Gothic painters, Jaume
Huguet (c. 1415-1492).
The altar frontal was conserved during the winter and
spring of 2009. During this conservation treatment, the
Museu Diocesa of Tarragona proposed that the authors
should study the altar frontal.
This involved the technical examination of the fabric,
threads and embroidery as well as historical, stylistic
and iconographic analysis. This study is the subject of
this paper.

Summary
In my 2007 paper, a possible structure for embroidery
stitches was presented. In this paper, I would like to
show a way of analysing medieval embroidery stitches with
the help of the vocabulary.
Medieval gold embroidery: couching, underside couching
and shaded gold embroidery, as used in opus Anglicanism
of the 12th and 13th centuries. Self couching in wool
embroidery, as applied in tapestries and altar cloths of
the 14th century from Northern Germany. Broad chain
stitch, Maltese Cross stitches as found in linen altar
cloths of the 12th and 13th centuries.